Goin' Deep: The Life and Times of a CFL Quarterback

by Matt Dunigan, Jim Taylor

"Put aside the fact that it ended my playing career, punched holes in my memory and put life as I knew it on indefinite hold, it wasn't that tough a hit."
Thus begins "Goin' Deep," Matt Dunigan's gritty, often startling memoir of his 14-year journey as a Canadian Football League quarterback, a career brought to a shattering halt on an afternoon in Hamilton in 1996 in a game he still cannot remember. It is a story that takes readers where football fans cannot go--down the stadium runway into the dressing rooms--where injury is a fact of life, injections can put agony on temporary hold, and the tough-minded live by the credo that "Pain is mind over matter. If you don't mind the pain, it doesn't matter."
But "Goin' Deep" is more than a football story. The concussion suffered in that game against the BC Lions marked the end of Dunigan's brilliant Hall of Fame career in the no-quarter world of professional football--and the beginning of another journey still in progress, where some days start third-and-long and memories can be shrouded in a drifting, frustrating fog that may or may not clear.
"You play the hand you're dealt," he says. "There are good days and bad days. Sometimes putting sentences together can be a struggle. Some days Kathy will say 'Remember when such-and-such, ' and I can't. But these are my cards, and I'll play 'em." The way he's played and continues to play them as a TSN football CFL analyst makes "Goin' Deep" a riveting, heart-warming read.

Genres: Football, Sports, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if Dunigan employed a ghost writer on this, but if so, they captured his tone perfectly. It's an engaging story of his CFL career, his attempt to play professional baseball, and his personal life. I hated him as a player - he always beat the Argos. Even when he quarterbacked the Argos to a Grey Cup I thought they should have started Ricky Foggie. But in his post-football career I've developed quite a fondness for him. This book just cements that. And a big bonus - the hardcover featured a reversible dust jacket that allowed the reader four pictures of Dunigan playing for four of the six CFL teams he suited up for.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. I’ve watched Matt Dunigan for years as a football analyst on TSN, but didn’t know much about his playing days.

Does this book show some of his arrogance that he often shows on tv? Absolutely. But it also shows a very personal side as well. I really liked his final chapter when he mentioned his work with kids with special needs. That hit home for me because working with them is a passion of mine as well.

His Edmonton Eskimos chapters were my favourite by far, as he really felt the family aspect of that organization. No wonder they have been my favourite team for years!

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In “Goin’ Deep” Matt Dunigan begins by presenting his final season in the CFL, resulting in a career-ending concussion, moves to his most famous year with the Toronto Argonauts before retracing his steps back to his youth in Ohio and Texas. Throughout the book, Dunigan provides a free and easy dialogue over his life which, when reading, sounds like Dunigan’s distinct voice and cadence. Not very heavy at all, but a fun and quick read about one of the CFL’s all-time greats.